All Americans remember where they were when they learned about the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but few Americans noticed—and fewer seemed to care—when Gen. John Campbell rolled up the International Security Afghanistan Force (ISAF) battle flag on Dec. 28. That ceremonial act officially and symbolically ended the ISAF combat mission in Afghanistan. Read More →

Russia has given the French government a choice, either deliver the two promised Mistral-class amphibious warships to the Russian Navy or refund the purchase price of the $1.53 billion program, a Russian foreign policy official told reporters on Monday. Read More →

Russian Mistral Vladivostok under construction on April 22, 2014. U.S. Naval Institute Combat Fleets of the World Photo

The French government is suspending a deal to deliver two Mistral-class warships to the Russian Navy “until further notice” citing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, according to a Tuesday statement from the office of President François Hollande. Read More →

Photo from Audun Tholfsen and Yngve Kristoffersen of an alleged Russian ballistic missile submarine in the Arctic Circle on Oct. 16, 2014.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Russian Navy’s submarine force has been more active this year against the backdrop of soured relationships with the West over the ongoing internal conflicts in Ukraine and the forced annexation of Crimea by Russia, U.S. Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Jonathan Greenert said on Tuesday. Read More →

The transatlantic alliance successfully navigated some rough seas in 2014. A year that began without any allied consensus on NATO’s proper direction in the world looks set to conclude with unanimity in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foray into Ukraine. Last month’s NATO summit in Wales especially seemed to prove that Europe still can give a good account of itself when necessary. Yet the hard work of follow-through on all the political commitments made there remains to be done, and the fundamental question raised by Russia’s belligerence—whether NATO will endure as a viable military entity—warrants close scrutiny in 2015. In no case more so than NATO’s maritime domain, where the Ukraine crisis prompted only slight adjustments at the same time it highlighted the need for a major course change. Read More →